Chiropractic Facts and Figures

As evidence supporting the effectiveness
of chiropractic continues to emerge, consumers are turning in record numbers
to chiropractic care — a preventive, non-surgical, drug-free treatment
option.

Just a few interesting facts on this
increasingly popular form of health care:

Chiropractic is the largest, most
regulated, and best recognized of the complementary and alternative medicine
(CAM) professions. (Meeker, Haldeman; 2002; Annals of Internal
Medicine)

There are more than 60,000 active
chiropractic licenses in the United States. All 50 states, the
District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands officially
recognize chiropractic as a health care profession.

In 2002, approximately 7.4 percent
of the population used chiropractic care – a higher percentage
than yoga, massage, acupuncture or other diet-based therapies. (Tindle
HA, Davis RB, Phillips RS, Eisenberg DM. Trends in use of complementary
and alternative medicine by US adults: 1997-2002. Altern Ther Health
Med. 2005 Jan-Feb;11(1):42-9.)

Doctors of Chiropractic undergo at
least four years of professional study at one of 16 chiropractic colleges
accredited by the Council on Chiropractic Education (CCE), an agency
recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education. In addition, Doctors
of Chiropractic must pass national board examinations and become state-licensed
prior to practicing.

In national surveys, patients favor
chiropractic over medical care for back or neck pain. Patients
routinely rate Doctors of Chiropractic highly in skill, manner, and explanation
of treatment.

Doctors of Chiropractic provide care
in hospitals and other multidisciplinary health care facilities.

Chiropractic is the third largest
doctoral-level health care profession after medicine and dentistry.

Back pain is the second leading cause
of all physician visits in the U.S. In fact, half of all working Americans
admit to having back pain each year. According to a study conducted
by the American Chiropractic Association in 2001, 43% of patients seen
by a doctor of chiropractic were treated for low-back pain.